5G whilst roaming in Spain

[Michael_T]

I can’t find any specific info on this in Q&A, so looking to anyone who has experience of this…

I will be going on holiday to the Canary Islands (Spain) and this will be the first time I will have used my SMARTY SIM outside the UK.  
Spain is one of the included countries for free EU roaming,  and the resort I am staying in has excellent coverage from all the 4 Spanish mobile networks, 2 of them offering 5G speeds. 

Will I still get 5G whilst there or will this be limited to 4G only whilst roaming?

[MSF]

While I'm not exactly sure of there answer to this, it is worth bearing in mind that your roaming data in the EU will be limited to 12Gb.

[Michael_T]

Thanks for responding.  Yes, I’m aware of the 12GB limit, and the necessary settings, which are on my phone already.  
The question is do you get the same 5G or just 4G?

[Michael_T]

Done a bit more delving on this, and it looks like the Three infrastructure don’t support 5G whilst roaming, article here published December 2022

https://5g.co.uk/guides/5g-roaming-can-i-roam-abroad/ 

[MSF]

Thanks for this @Michael_T  A bit of further research:  https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_21_654

As I read it, If we were still members of the EU, we could expect to get the maximum available wherever we were in EU.

Since we are no longer EU members, I assume that networks are under no obligation to provide anything while we roam - indeed, they are not obliged to even provide free roaming in the EU. 😒

[Michael_T · Accepted solution]

Having just returned from Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, I can confirm that data there is 3G and 4G (no 5G).  My phone used both Movistar and Orange networks whilst roaming there, and Orange gave me 4G speed more consistently.  
My phone didn’t use data excessively either.  I used hotel Wi-Fi and public Wi-Fi too (to keep my usage down), but out and about it was the same as at home.

[MarkDav_1795153]

I am in Gran Canaria and using SMARTY running for the first time I’m only getting 3G fellow speeds. Where is my wife who is on Giffgaff is getting a stunning 5G service.

[TyroneM_1461149]

I winter in Spain (every year) for 2 months within Almeria province. I confirm that whereas I can get 5g mobile service with a native DIGI sim, my Smarty sim only ever gives me a 4g service. ie you dont get 5g with Smarty abroad.

On the plus side, getting 4g not 5g does mean that you get more out of your 12gb max useage as less data is used to do anything eg watch a video or surf the web, all be it at a slower speed.

[MSF]

@TyroneM_1461149  Does this apply across all available networks there? (e.g.Movistar, Vodafone, Yoigo)

Wouldn't you expect the networks to give preference to their own customers before roaming users? I would certainly hope that is the case in the UK.

[TyroneM_1461149]

I get a DIGI sim which I believe uses the moviestar network in Spain...5G is great. 

My Smarty gives me 4G piggy backing of YOIGO and sometimes ORANGE. Its fine but not 5G. So do they prioritise locals?.. no idea but makes sense!

[MSF]

@TyroneM_1461149 If you were a local customer of those networks, wouldn't you be pleased that they prioritised you over those who were roaming?

[TyroneM_1461149]

I'm sorry but you don't appear to be grasping the issue for this thread...namely, why is my signal when abroad with Smarty only 4G at best, when  5G is available?

You appear to be saying that when in the EU, as a Smarty sim customer, I will get,  and should expect, a second class network service when abroad, because as a foreigner in the EU I dont deserve a regular service. Hmmm.... interesting viewpoint.......... 

didnt realise that networks such as Smarty had to prioritise who they give the best service to at any given time.🤷

[MSF]

@TyroneM_1461149 I certainly do grasp the issue here.

You have correctly understood what I am saying. Perhaps I need to make it a little clearer.

As a Smarty customer, I expect to get priority over people who may be EU nationals roaming in my area. It is the regular customers who pay for the upkeep of the system and so it seems requitable that they should be treated preferentially.

I am at least glad that you recognise my viewpoint as interesting....given that you don't think I have understood the issue.

You say that you didn't realise that networks such as Smarty had to prioritise who they give the best service to at any given time. Let's face it, Three network prioritise their customers over this MVNO's customers according to the experience of many people. More than that, it makes good business sense for a network not to irritate their own customers; the roaming customer is hardly a great source of income or profit, so why prioritise or even equate them?

You will note from the Accepted Solution to this thread that the OP received a better signal from Orange than from Movistar while in the Canary Islands. I suspect that this may be due to Movistar being the biggest network throughout Spain, the Balearics and the Canary Islands and therefore under the most pressure on its masts.